I Confess: An Open Letter to the National Security Agency

I have just now learned how hard you are working to gather information about everything that Americans say on the phone and do over the Internet.
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An early copy of Rolling Stone magazine's August 2013 issue is read at an office in Los Angeles on July 17, 2013. Rolling Stone defended the cover story on Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, which triggered criticism that the magazine was 'glamorizing terrorism' and calls to boycott the publication. At least two national chain stores announced they would not be selling the latest issue of the magazine, known for interviews with rock stars and others. The cover picture -- showing a goateed Tsarnaev, 19, was likened to a famous Rolling Stone cover portrait of the late singer Jim Morrison of 'The Doors.' The accompanying Rolling Stones article, titled 'The Bomber,' was described by the magazine as a 'deeply reported account of the life and times' of Tsarnaev. The 12-page story is based on interviews with dozens of sources that 'deliver a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster,' it said. AFP PHOTO/Michael THURSTON (Photo credit should read Michael THURSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
An early copy of Rolling Stone magazine's August 2013 issue is read at an office in Los Angeles on July 17, 2013. Rolling Stone defended the cover story on Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, which triggered criticism that the magazine was 'glamorizing terrorism' and calls to boycott the publication. At least two national chain stores announced they would not be selling the latest issue of the magazine, known for interviews with rock stars and others. The cover picture -- showing a goateed Tsarnaev, 19, was likened to a famous Rolling Stone cover portrait of the late singer Jim Morrison of 'The Doors.' The accompanying Rolling Stones article, titled 'The Bomber,' was described by the magazine as a 'deeply reported account of the life and times' of Tsarnaev. The 12-page story is based on interviews with dozens of sources that 'deliver a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster,' it said. AFP PHOTO/Michael THURSTON (Photo credit should read Michael THURSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Dear NSA,

I have a confession to make.

I have just now learned how hard you are working to gather information about everything that Americans say on the phone and do over the Internet. Knowing how much you need this information to protect us against terrorists, and fearing that I myself might have inadvertently done something to aid one, I feel bound to give you a full report on my recent phone calls, emails and Internet activity. I do so in the hope that I may not only save you some time and trouble in your valiant, unending quest for data on me and all other citizens of this great land, but also inspire at least a few other red-blooded American Islamophobes to do likewise.

Here is my first confession.

Yesterday I spoke briefly on the phone with a man whose sister-in-law once tweeted a woman who e-mailed the second cousin of a man who was recently seen buying a copy of the latest issue of Rolling Stone: you know -- the one with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston bomber, on the cover? Now there's a piece of data for you!

Furthermore, during the past week I have accessed porn sites no less than 243 (that's two hundred and forty-three, count 'em) times. And one of those sites featured a bare-breasted woman who looked to me as if she could easily have fitted into the vest of a suicide bomber. I warn you, NSA: that woman needs watching. Closely. Twenty-four hours a day.

I must also confess that I have read every word I can find on the net and in print about the documents leaked by Edward Snowden. While I realize that this snake in the cybergrass has grossly misrepresented the heroic work you are doing, that he has falsely accused you of spying on all of us, invading our privacy, and thus shredding our Constitutional right to security against all unreasonable searches and siezures, I wanted to see for myself just how wicked Mr. Snowden was. But having read about his overblown "disclosures" of would-be "documents" that he has surely fabricated all by himself, I now realize that I may have been somehow infected by his poisonous distrust of you. So if you can recommend an antidote for this poison, I earnestly entreat you to do so.

Yours abjectly,

James Heffernan

Email: i.watch.out.for.terrorists.every.day.of.my.life@gmail.com

Phone: 1-800-TAP-IT-ANYTIME-YOU-WISH

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